


James the Husband

by iloveitblue



Series: Prompts [199]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Abusive Relationship, M/M, not really detailed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-21
Updated: 2015-03-21
Packaged: 2018-03-18 22:07:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3585774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iloveitblue/pseuds/iloveitblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where there's that asshole James who also happens to be Clint's husband.</p><p>Happy ending, I swear.</p>
            </blockquote>





	James the Husband

“What is this?” Phil asked, holding Clint’s wrist in his hand, running his thumb gently over the bruised marks on his friend’s wrist.

“It’s nothing.” Clint pulled his hand away and pulled his sleeve over it. “Really, Phil. You act like this is the first time you’ve seen stuff like this.”

“Why do you let him treat you like this?”

Clint rolled his eyes at him. “Not on me, you asswipe. On your cases.”

“That’s the problem here. I see the marks I see on them on you. And it troubles me that you don’t even seem to mind.” Phil exclaimed. He’s tired of this same speech. He’s told it a thousand times to the same man and still nothing seems to change. He’s thought about doing something instead of just asking Clint to do something. He’s wanted nothing more than to punch James’ teeth in. Tell him that this isn’t how a marriage works. That you don’t get to hurt your spouse just because he brought you the wrong pair of shoes. You don’t get to hurt them, period.

But this wasn’t Phil’s fight. It was Clint’s.

If he chooses to just sit there and take it, well, that’s his choice. But that also doesn’t mean that Phil is just going to just stay quiet about it. He’s no longer going to just watch Clint smile this away saying ‘ _It was my fault, I disturbed him.’_  He’s going to do whatever it takes to protect his friend. 

“It’s not so bad.” Clint sighed, “At least he didn’t leave marks where I couldn’t hide it.”

“Clint, please. Listen to me.” Phil reached out to touch Clint’s hand. Clint looked up to stare into his eyes. “He’s hurting you and you’re letting him.”

Clint tried to smile but it came out brittle and sad. “He is not-”

“He is. and you are. You just don’t see it. I’ve been your friend since we were in diapers Clint. What he’s doing to you, it’s what your father did to you. Everyday, I see you with a new bruise. Everyday, I wish there was something I could do to help you.” Phil looks down for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts, remembering all those days when he came to school and saw Clint’s new bruises scattered all over his frail body. “All you ever did was smile and say that you’re fine-”

“I am fine-”

“No, you’re not. Even a blind man can see it. When you finally moved out of your parent’s place to come live with me, I was thrilled. Partly because I get to live with my best friend but mostly because I thought I never had to see you hurt again. And then James came into the picture.

“He was nice to you, you seemed happy, and that was all that mattered to me. You can’t keep pretending, Clint. You don’t have to cover for him. Just give me the word, and I can get you out of there by tomorrow. Please just, if you do stay with him, don’t let him bully you like this. Please.”

They stayed silent for a long while when Clint broke eye contact with Phil and decided to stare at his lap.

Phil doesn’t know what it was that he said, but whatever it was, it made Clint chuckle.

“We had a fight the other night.”

“Clint-”

“Might have been the worst one we’ve had to date. It was about you.” Clint glanced up just for a second, before looking down again. “He says I spend too much time with you. That it’s unseemly for a married man to be with someone who isn’t his husband so often.

“I told him he was wrong. That you’re probably the only good thing in my life. He took offense to that. Said that you could never do what he does for me. I told him he was wrong, again. That’s when he thought we were sleeping together. For the third time, I had to tell him he was wrong. Over and over, I told him he had it all wrong.

“And then he said-” Clint huffed. “And then he said that I was right. That of course I wouldn’t sleep with you. Why would I when I had him. I slapped him. Told him that he could never be what you are to me. That it was the other way around. That I didn’t know why I was with him when I already had you. He tied me to the bed, kept me locked up until this morning when he apologized.”

They stayed quiet again. Phil holding on to Clint’s hand like it was a life line.

“Clint, please. Let me help you.” Phil said, his voice quiet but determined.

Clint squeezed his hand back before he nodded.

—-

2 years later, Clint and Phil move back in to their old apartment. Clint seemed perfectly happy now that he was free from James and Phil was thrilled about it. So thrilled in fact, that he had to pull Clint into a kiss. Clint smiled into it, putting his arms around Phil’s neck, Phil’s hand, cradling his cheek; the matching rings in their hands catching the sunlight, glinting.

**Author's Note:**

> [Here on tumblr](http://promptmephlint.tumblr.com/post/114226447676/i-woke-up-at-4pm-today-to-be-fair-i-slept-at)


End file.
